Stomach Flu
by silvereyesish
Summary: ...LxLight... L would choose the one day they were completely alone to get sick.


**Stomach Flu  
Rating:** PG-13ish  
**Genre: **Humor/Romance  
**Summary:**  
L _would _choose the one day that they were alone to get sick.

* * *

It was about three in the morning.

Again, Light found himself at the computer, staring at his screen without comprehending any of the text that scrolled across it. It was the same old stuff, same old theories, same old information. He had absolutely no interest in the Kira case at the moment, although he didn't mention it to L. If he did, he'd never hear the end of it. Percentages and accusations would fly at him at tops speeds, and Light was simply too tired to deal with the mind-fucks that L enjoyed to employ.

As usual, it was completely silent in the huge room, the only two people being L and Light, who didn't speak much in the early hours of the morning. Occasionally the clinking of chains would be heard as L reached for more sweets, but it was a noise that the teen had grown to tune out. Sometimes the silence was deafening, so much that Light wanted to shout just to get rid of the buzzing in his ears. Sometimes, Light wanted conversation, but he knew that L would not enjoy being bothered, so he kept his mouth shut.

As Light clicked the back button on his internet browser, he became aware of noise. It was the clinking of chains, and although he had managed to forget about the handcuffs most of the time, this incessant clanking was starting to get on his nerves. Light growled, and looked up over at L to tell the detective to stop bouncing around so much (no doubt from the massive amount of sugar he'd had), but stopped.

L didn't look so great.

The detective's face was much more pale than usual, and his skin looked clammy, sweaty. The man wasn't hyper, but rather shivering violently. His coal black eyes were half closed, and he was breathing irregularly, as if it was hard for him to catch a breath. Light's frown grew more pronounced as he spun his chair to face L directly.

"Ryuzaki…? What's wrong?" Light asked, fighting down the irrational panic.

L didn't respond, but instead curled up into a tighter ball. A huge shudder ran down the detective's spine, rattling the chain loudly. Quickly, Light stood up, closing the short distance between them and kneeling before L. The teen attempted to move L's arms from around his knees in order to look at his face, but the older man tensed at Light's touch.

"I…I am fine, Light-k-k-kun… Just leave me… alone." L mumbled, shaking so badly he couldn't speak right.

Light scowled, standing up. "You are not fine, Ryuzaki, you idiot. You're sick. How the hell did you manage to get sick? You haven't left this building in—"

Light's words were cut off by a sudden and loud fit of coughing that issued from L, almost knocking the detective out of his chair. It went on for a few seconds, and Light stood uselessly, trying to decide on what he should do. When L looked up at Light, his expression frightened the teen. Never had Light seen the detective look so vulnerable, so… afraid?

Why was L afraid?

Light was worried now, despite the fact that Light Yagami did not usually worry about people other than his family. It wasn't something he did; worrying meant that the people were worth his time, which they usually weren't. He supposed it made sense, though, as L was one of the few that was worthy of Light's attention… but still, it wasn't a good idea to care about people who wanted you dead.

"Light-kun… I do not feel okay…" L whispered, his eyes wide and childlike, looking frightened beyond belief. "What's ha-ha-happening to me…?"

"What, you've never gotten sick before? " Light teased half-heartedly, kneeling again, peering up into L's face. The detective blinked once, shuddered again, and then shook his head, carefully. Light was skeptical, and narrowed his eyes at L, unbelieving.

"I have gotten colds before, Light-kun," L mumbled, still managing to sound indignant, as if Light had insulted his intelligence. "However… I have not felt like… like this before. My stomach is rolling around…"

Light stood up again and, with some ease, scooped the detective up and headed straight for the bathroom, ignoring L's small protests, knowing that by doing so he was probably giving himself the stomach flu, which was what he strongly suspected L had. As if on cue, the moment they reached the restroom, L fell to the floor and retched into the toilet, coughing.

Light leaned next to him, patting his friend's back, rubbing it softly as the older man emptied the contents of his stomach. When L had finished, he fell back wearily, against the wall, looking a little better. Light reached into the pockets of his pants and pulled out a box of breathmints, handing one to the tired detective. L put it into his mouth hesitantly, but immediately spit it out and diving toward the toilet once more. Nothing came out, but he dry heaved for a moment before leaning back again.

Light smoothed L's hair, softly, not even registering that he was doing it. The man looked so _human _that it was almost scary. The edges of L's eyes were rimmed with wetness, and Light couldn't help but reach up and wipe them away with his thumb, making soothing noises as he did so. The detective watched this, still looking queasy, but it didn't seem like he was going to be sick again for a while. So, since Light was pretty sure L wasn't going to vomit again, he pulled the older man into a comforting hug. L rested his hot forehead on Light's shoulder, shivering under Light's cool touch.

"Light-kun… why are you being so nice to me?" L muttered into Light's shirt, his voice shaky.

Light ran his fingers through L's messy hair, considering this. He wasn't sure why he was doing this; maybe it was because it reminded of the times he'd taken care of Sayu when she'd been sick, or maybe it was because L had somehow become one of the people Light cared about most, or maybe it was because of something that Light hadn't meant to happen. Light was silent for a long time, deciding what to say: the truth, or a lie.

"Because I care about you, Ryuzaki." Light said simply, massaging his detective's back.

L was silent for a long time, so long that Light actually had to check to see if the man was still breathing. Of course, the detective was still alive, but he was deeply asleep, still shivering as an aftereffect of the flu. Light sighed, half in relief, half in frustration. He'd finally admitted it, to himself, to Ryuzaki, and the damned man had fallen asleep. It figured.

With a small grunt, Light picked L back up, and walked toward the bedroom, intending to call Watari to take care of L so that he could get some sleep…

-

_…Two Days Later…_

-

"Ughnnn… Ryuzaki, you asshole…" Light groaned, leaning over the toilet, looking miserable. "You got me sick, dammit!"

The boy disappeared again, the noises of retching echoing in the spacious bathroom. L was crouching next to him, bony fingers massaging Light's shoulders as the teenager threw up. The detective smirked, looking a little smug.

"It is your own fault, Light-kun. You should have not gotten so close to me while I was sick."

He thought he heard a small "oh, _screw you_, Ryuzaki..." mumbled in his direction, which made him chuckle sympathetically. Light growled weakly, laying his head on the seat of the toilet. L reached up and flushed it, then went back to rubbing the teen's neck.

"I _am _sorry. I did not mean to infect you, Light-kun." L drawled, thumb resting at his lips lazily. Light merely glared, and then groaned again as his stomach did a flip in his belly.

"Just go away!" Light growled, trying to find a cool spot to rest his burning cheek against.

L frowned, and then crept closer, cocking his head to the side.

"You know I cannot do that, of course," L said, putting his cold fingers on Light's face. The boy leaned into them, eager for some relief from the burning. "because one, I still believe you are Kira, and I cannot let you out of my sight—"

"God, Ryuzaki, I'm sick! Even if I was Kira—" Light paused, holding his stomach as another wave of nausea hit him. "—which I'm not, I wouldn't be able to do anything with the frigging stomach flu!"

L chuckled, to Light's immense frustration, and tapped Light on the nose. The teen would've attacked the detective if it weren't for the cartwheels in his stomach.

"You did not let me finish, Light-kun," L continued, grinning. "Secondly, I could not leave you alone because…

Light leaned forward, resting his head on L's shoulder just like the detective had two days before.

"… because I care about you, too."

Light's head snapped up, and he immediately regretted the action, as it sent his stomach off again. But before he turned to vomit, again, he spoke.

"Next time, L, could you please tell me something like this at a better time?"

* * *

_silvereyesish_


End file.
